President's powers pared Constitution amendment passed unanimously By Patrick Denny Stabroek News December 16, 2000 The President of Guyana no longer has the power to dissolve Parliament under certain conditions nor dismiss a public officer. A 49-0 vote in the National Assembly yesterday passed the Constitution (Amendment) (No 4) Bill 2000 which circumscribes the powers of the presidency. The President has lost immunity from prosecution, must act in accordance with the Judicial Service Commission in appointing a tribunal to enquire into and make recommendations for the removal of a puisne judge and has to have the house approve the expenditure of any office created by the President which would be a charge on the Consolidated Fund. The President is also now limited to appointing no more than four ministers and two parliamentary secretaries who are not elected members of the National Assembly. Ten of the eighteen ministers currently in office are non-elected members of the National Assembly. The President is also now mandated to enter into meaningful consultations as effected by the amendment of article 232. Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Reepu Daman Persaud, who piloted the bill through its Second and Third Readings described it as broadening the parameters of democracy, explaining that the powers enjoyed by the President under the 1980 constitution collided with the society's perception of democracy. He said that the bill had been subjected to the scrutiny of the PPP/Civic and the PNC and had the support of all the parties represented in the house. The bill saw amendments to Articles 90, 120, 170, 225, 231 and 232--which needed a two-thirds majority to amend them--and articles 101, 103, 106 and 107--which only needed a simple majority. Speaking on behalf of the PNC, Deborah Backer, confirmed her party's support for the bill and described it as one with which all Guyanese could identify. She welcomed the amendment to Article 90 which stipulated that a person standing for election as President had to be a Guyanese by birth or of Guyanese parentage and had to be resident in Guyana for seven years immediately before nomination day. She said that amendment to Article 232 gave teeth to the constitutional requirement for consultation by defining how it should be done. Backer said too in reference to the repeal of Article 231 which removed the immunities of the President that it needed to be backed up by an independent judiciary, suggesting that the appointment and retirement of judges were matters which had to be addressed. Both The United Force parliamentarian, Manzoor Nadir and Dr Rupert Roopnaraine of the Alliance for Guyana, supported the bill. Nadir drew attention to the term limitation imposed by the amendment to article 90, as amended article 90 (2) limits a President who acceded to the presidency after 2000 to re-election once only. Dr Roopnaraine, who said that the amendments resulted from recommendations he had made at the level of the Constitution Reform Commission, welcomed the bill but said that he would have liked to see the President being directly elected by gaining 51 per cent of the votes of the electorate. He also welcomed the amendment which defines what is meant by meaningful consultation pointing out that up to now no opposition leader who had to be consulted would have found the process satisfactory. Moses Nagamootoo, a PPP backbencher, said that the changes were steps in the direction of civilising the politics of the country and laying the basis for a new political culture. Other business conducted in the house yesterday was the passage of the Ethnic Relations Commission Tribunal after its Third Reading. The Third Reading of this bill was deferred from Monday while Persaud checked whether an error had been made by involving the Public Service Commission in the appointment of two members of the tribunal. It turned out not to be a mistake but the bill was amended to provide for the two members appointed by the President after consultation with the PSC to be removed by the President on the advice of the body. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today